We’d put our usual "Ignore Franklin McNeil’s inane ramblings,"disclaimer on this video, but after you hear him try to string a series of words together to describe how he was feeling during the Sonnen-Silva fight, it seems unnecessary.

"First time in a long time that I was actually a fan. I’m sitting there and I can’t believe what I’m seeing. No one could have foreseen that particular outcome."

Which outcome is that, Anderson winning by submission against a guy who always loses by submission or you being asked to give your thoughts on it?

Sonnen’s interview makes up for McNeil’s deer in the headlights style of reporting.

"I was a boxer growin’ up. I never really talked about it. I had a real serious conversation with my father as a teenager about leaving wrestling and trying to make the Olympic team in amateur boxing. I fought 41 men and I’ve never been outstruck on my feet and I was pretty confident that Anderson wasn’t going to be the first to do it, so I wasn’t overly surprised."What his game plan was for the opening round:

"We were able to control the action. One thing you’ll notice if you watch Anderson’s fights is it’s pretty easy to get the jump on him right at the beginning of the fight. He takes a little bit longer of a feeling out process than most guys and he comes out very hard for the second round. We were prepared for that."

Knowing that he dominated the opening frame, how he approached round two:

"Going into round two, again, we knew he likes to come out hard in round two. The feeling out process is done. He doesn’t lead with the jab, he leads with power knockout shots — big flying knees. We were prepared for that. I wanted to meet him across the ring — meet him in his corner and keep the pressure on him. Not only beat him physically, but try to take jhim out of the game mentally."

If he was surprised that the fight ended the way it did:

"It’s important to stay busy. If you ever get on top in a fight, you want to maintain that position. I really thought that the only chance Anderson is going to have is to land one of the fancy and athletic moves he’s known for from his feet. I didn’t see there being any problems from the ground position…Anderson never touched me once in the fight that didn’t hurt. I never envisioned him winning the fight from the bottom."

How close he thought he was to winning in the third round:

"He stopped at one point…the referee even warned him that he needs to stay busy, and he looked at the referee like "I’m not busy; get me out of here."He didn’t put his hands up. I thought there was a really good opportunity for victory there, maybe by TKO. He also groaned while I was striking him in the body. We had a real brief conversation where he let me know "That hurt." I was telling him, ‘I can get you out of here, but you need to roll over and give me the choke.’ He wasn’t quite willing to do that."

If he felt Silva was going to quit:

"I did and I fell for it. He shut down and was completely in defensive mode. More often than not, that’s a guy’s way of telling you "I’m gonna stay in here and grind this one out for 25 minutes, but I concede you won tonight. He gave me that both verbally and physically, but he came back."

If he was celebrating in his mind heading into the final round:"Absolutely. At this point I knew I’d beat Anderson. I’ve just got to beat out the clock and get the victory. I really though the fight was over. I never saw him winning from the bottom."

On the submission that lost him the fight:"Basics are what win championships, not fancy moves. Two of the basics of submissions are you don’t let your opponent control your wrist and you don’t put your hand on the mat. I let him control my wrist. I underestimated him. I figured he had 23 minutes and he couldn’t do anything to me, it’s certainly not going to change now. That’s a big mistake. I let him have my wrist . If I got my wrist back, we wouldn’t be having this conversation."

What he thought about these comments Michael Bisping made about him after the fight:

“If Michael Bisping ever addresses me in public comments again, I’ll bury him where he stands.”

Cagepotato Comments

Showing 1-25 of comments

Letting us know your comment's going to be a drunken rant is like starting off a letter with "This letter is to let you know..." Thanks, but I already know it's a letter and I already know it's to let me know something.

What you wrote above there... that was exactly what a drunken rant sounds like. Giving us the heads up about it was a waste of time, kinda like MRuss busting out the Legalese the other day.

BJJ Pennguin- August 14, 2010 at 12:01 am

I wanna see Chael fight (rape) Rich Franklin next

dogpt3- August 13, 2010 at 11:24 pm

Drunken Rant - Sonnen is the Clinton of the MMA world

Why does it feel like this blog is so pro Sonnen they would offer him reach-arounds for exclusive interviews?

If you are one of the people who want an immediate Sonnen-Silva rematch you are a dick. period. The whole point of professional fighting is climbing the ladder and making the most of your shot. Title shots are a privilege and not a right. Since A.S. joined the UFC Hendo was the only person to win a round from Silva. Sonnen is the first person EVER to conrol the entire fight and still ends up losing. Where I come from a loss is a loss. We dont get trophies for participating. Do I think Sonnen has a good chance of beating Silva? I would be stupid not to, but how the fuck does losing to a submission (if you call it hail mary you are a sonnen cock chugger, silva was trying to work it all fight) But in the spirit of fight, how can you deny another man his shot? Vitor deserves this fight against silva, and just because he is not talking as much shit as Sonnen doesnt mean he doesnt have just as legitimate a shot of beating him. Sonnen came hard and strong and actually clipped Silva with some big shots. Why couldnt Vitor do the same? People are so brain washed, listen to sonnens answers from stratka, "the ufc doesnt owe me anything, I am in debt to the UFC " he's a probablly the most intelligent fighter in the world in terms of understanding the business side of things. He went from absolute zero recognition to leveraging a fight against the P4P best into the most popular fighter of the year aside from perhaps GSP. And he did it without even having to fight. His effort gave so much validity to his claims but at the end of the day he created a win-win situation. He was rudendant before the fight, he maximized his value, and all he has to do is win 2 rounds for people to give him credit for his smack talk... he won 4 even more impressive.

Angry Whopper- August 13, 2010 at 9:50 pm

But I can fault him for being a jerk. A lot. Showing class after (losing) a fight doesn't undo the gigantic level of asshole he built up.

Unless fans have the memory of a puppy or a goldfish, they would do well to remember the schizoid, incoherent ramblings Sonnen was throwing all over the place pre-fight.

Just 'cause a guy is taking his lithium meds and appears coherent and stable today doesn't mean he's not still a crazy mofo skating on the extremest edge of balancing psychotropic manifestations against what the rest of us call reality. Just sayin'.

Erased230- August 13, 2010 at 8:23 pm

Sonnen was honest and candid about his performance. I can't wait to see his next fight, I'm a huge fan, he's talks the talk and walks the walk - can't fault a guy for that.

Under Banga- August 13, 2010 at 4:54 pm

Can you imagine cornering Vitor
.PULL THE TRIGGER FOR FUCKS SAKE PHENOM!!!! ,all is well, God is with you,PULL THE TRIGGER FOR FUCKS SAKE PHENOM!!!! yes keep up the movement, .PULL THE TRIGGER FOR FUCKS SAKE PHENOM!!!! you are winning the fight .PULL THE TRIGGER FOR FUCKS SAKE PHENOM!!!!
[transcript of Vitor`s cornermans instr]

Under Banga- August 13, 2010 at 4:45 pm

Yep pretty cool to hear Chael "tell it " really enjoyed this match-up.Can`t wait to see" the old Vitor "you know, the one that fought Hendo n Randy , Hah Hah,
Bang on

Travis.Logan- August 13, 2010 at 4:29 pm

Chris Leben needs to be in the mix god damn it bisping is fucking worthless. he plays paddy whack with his opponent never really inflicting damage and getting out. Leben has the chin and the one punch power and as of recent BJJ to have an excellent fight with Vitor then have a sik re-match with silva and maybe not with the same out come

Videodrome_NOW- August 13, 2010 at 3:29 pm

Since no one else has said it, I'm going to vote for Wanderlei against Anderson. If Bisping gets passed Akiyama, let him fight Chael, And Vitor can fight the winner of Marquardt and Palhares.

StinkFacer- August 13, 2010 at 3:27 pm

Mike Bisping can definitely hit harder than Chael Sonnen....but not off his back, which is where he'll be, the entire time.

2DaDeath- August 13, 2010 at 2:31 pm

In consideration of the above comments:

1. I wanna see Bisping against either Sonnen or Belfort, just cause I'm convinced that either would humiliate Mike "sucks dingaling" Bisping.
2. MMA is still no where near the horrible level of smack-talking that u'll see in boxing, and thank God for that!

ghostboner- August 13, 2010 at 2:26 pm

I would like to see Bisping fight Sonnen, except that Bisping has not earned that fight. Not even close. As soon as bisping gets a W over Nate Marquardt then lets talk.

Kid Clam Curtains- August 13, 2010 at 1:31 pm

I can't wait for the shit talking between bisping and sonnen. Sonnen will verbally rape him before and then literally rape him during the fight.

Also, Sonnen, though playing the heel as well as anyone, would make an excellent analyst.

dogpt3- August 13, 2010 at 1:25 pm

I said it a long time ago Sonnens no dummy, he knows what he's doing politically. Still don't care for the guy but he definitely impressed me. That being said, you're gonna get a bunch of not so intelligent fighters taking a page from his book and running at the mouth left right and center because they saw the way he went from obscurity to hero before he even fought. I dont mind some shit talking before a fight and a good grudge match is always in good taste, I just hope that Chael and Toney havent opened the flood gates for the UFC to become the new WWF.

RwilsonR- August 13, 2010 at 1:09 pm

Chael seemed like a hilarious heel when he needed to be to sell the fight, and now seems more down to earth and likeable. Pretty smart, actually.

And for all of Chael's talk pre-fight about how he hadn't even watched tape on Anderson, and all that, it appears that he actually had done some good research and had a well prepared gameplan.

I'd like to see Bisping get pounded by Sonnen. That would make me pretty happy. Have Belfort beat Okami's ass in the meantime.

glassjawsh- August 13, 2010 at 12:57 pm

kinda feel bad for franklin mcneil. he's actually a fairly talented writer. but goddamn he's just a goon in front of the camera

Ballkick- August 13, 2010 at 12:31 pm

Wow Chael Sonnen is a pretty decent guy after a fight.
"AND"
Michael Bisping ,..........is still a douche-bag before, during and after his fights..

cecils_pupils- August 13, 2010 at 12:24 pm

I can help you out of this mess but you gotta roll over for me...

this sounds more like a cop puttin' the screws to a drug dealer, trying to get him to roll over on his supplier. Damn, I been watchin' too much DEA on Spike.

Travis.Logan- August 13, 2010 at 12:12 pm

And also Chris Leben Better be Higher on the UFC Middle weight rankings than Bisping cause when it comes to being a fighter, THE CRIPPLER shines brightest

Travis.Logan- August 13, 2010 at 12:05 pm

Chael is a great grinder and he has a way with words in a sport were most men dont. But i cant stand him, in this interview he came off really good and i hope he calms down his rhetoric, but this recent tactic of immediate re-matchs for the title shots by the ufc has to stop. I think Sonnen vs Bisping is a lame fight I wanna see Sonnen vs Belfort since Vitor cant wait for silva's ribs to heal maybe they could be the co-mainevent for a Frankie edgar rematch over Bj Penn, after he wins the belt back of course. Then Anderson is healed and Bang Silva vs Sonnen 2 " UFC 124 : WTF WILL CHAEL SAY NEXT"

StinkFacer- August 13, 2010 at 12:00 pm

the difference to me is:

I dislike Chael cause he had an opinion on everything, and it usually was either contrary to mine, so abstract it seemed impossible, or.... just straight up crazy.

Bisping is just an idiot with a big mouth.

So yeah....fk bisping.

Yurko- August 13, 2010 at 11:57 am

I really don't like either of those guys, but they are completely different. I too, would relish the opportunity to watch Chael to knock Bisping retarded.

Chael says whatever the fuck he wants, and doesn't give a shit what people think about it. Bisping says whatever he wants, and thinks everyone else thinks he's as awesome as he does. He's constantly trying to see what he can get away with. Chael doesn't care what he can get away with.

Sakuraba3900- August 13, 2010 at 11:54 am

you know in person hes pretty fucking chill its the persona he puts on tv that i fucking hate (Bisping that is) He used to come into my old work all the time when he would spend time with Rampage in SoCal and he was way chill... but I guess thats how you make money by gettin people to talk about you whether its good or bad.

Sakuraba3900- August 13, 2010 at 11:50 am

Sonnen is a beast... verbally. I would love to see him and Bisping duke it out on the mic for a couple of weeks before they smash eachothers faces in.

StinkFacer- August 13, 2010 at 11:47 am

I can't believe im saying this but.....

I would pay to see Chael Sonnen bury Michael Bisping. It'd be a win win. I dislike Sonnen slightly, but DETEST Bisping. Every time he opens his mouth, i replay Hendo vs Bisping last 30 seconds in my head. Classic.

Eric R.- August 13, 2010 at 11:43 am

Silva needs to watch some old Chuck Liddell fights and learn to get back to his feet